Following an 18-month review, the French nuclear safety regulator has given its preliminary approval of the safety options for the Atmea1 reactor design. The decision marks an important step to demonstrate the licensability of the 'mid sized' pressurized water reactor.

A severe accident at a US nuclear power plant would not be likely to cause any immediate deaths, while the risks of fatal cancers caused by such an accident would be millions of times lower than the general risks of dying of cancer, a long-running research study has found.

Investing in new nuclear generating capacity or any other form of energy would be too expensive and come online too late, France's state audit office has concluded. Extending the operating lives of its existing nuclear power reactors would be its best option.

A turbulent year for Areva has seen a new CEO, dramatic currency fluctuations and sales impacts from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident but an increase in order backlog and only a fairly minor downturn in overall revenue.

Canadian engineering company SNC-Lavalin has won a contract to install reactor containment filtration systems at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania. SNC-Lavalin has in turn contracted Areva to supply the equipment.